GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Purchased by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 132.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,281,855 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.11% of GSK worth $76,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK by 195.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on GSK in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of GSK from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Stock Up 1.5 %

GSK traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.92. 4,812,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,650,435. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.93. The company has a market cap of $74.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.11.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. As a group, analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.63%.

GSK Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.